Kenosha News

Buffalo Bill Cody brought his Wild West show to area

BY DIANE GILES

dgiles@kenoshanews.com

The last History Mystery question:

Who brought his popular Wild West Show to the Bonnie Hame area in 1909?

Answer:

It was none other than Col. William F. Cody, aka Buffalo Bill, the legendary scout of the Old West.

Cody had teamed up with his former competitor Gordon “Pawnee Bill” Lillie for a combined Wild West and Far East Show on a three-year “farewell tour.” By 1909, Cody’s Wild West Show was in its 26th year.

The troupe came to town by rail on the early morning of July 19, 1909.

The show had a cast of 500 performers and extras, but that was nothing compared to the mass of animals that came along with the show. There were 900 horses, a herd of buffalo, longhorn steers, mules, camels and elephants.

When Cody’s promoters had found out that the city was asking a substantial fee for licensing such traveling shows, they rented a farmer’s field and moved the show to outside the city limits on Grand Avenue (52nd Street) near today’s 28th Avenue.

Acres of canvas were spread for the outdoor extravaganza. The main arena held nearly 14,000 people, and Kenosha-area residents packed the stands for the afternoon and evening performances.

The location was within walking distance of the streetcar line, which ended at about 26th Avenue, and by early afternoon crowds were filling the 12 streetcars in a continuous exodus from the city.

The troupe gave dramatic performances depicting ranch life, a buffalo hunt, a Pony Express ride, a train robbery and an Indian attack on the Deadwood stagecoach with “over 100 Indians and as many cavalry and soldiers,” as the Kenosha Evening News reported.

The Far East portion of the show in the Oriental spectacle employed the camels, elephants and other exotic animals. It included Hindu fakirs, Arabian athletes, Japanese jugglers and a whirling dervish or two.

Then, too, there were the expert horsemen showing off their skills: Mexican cowboys, South American gauchos, Bedouins from the Middle East and Russian Cossacks, all in uniform.

The Kenosha City Council and School Board rescheduled their usual Monday night meetings to enable the men and their families to attend the spectacle.

Good sports Kenosha Mayor Mathias J. Scholey and Sheriff William Gunter road in the stagecoach as it was attacked by Indians, a rare event that happened hundreds of times more in Cody’s arena than actually took place on the plains.

In the end of each melodrama, it was Buffalo Bill who came to the rescue, and his display of sharp shooting always brought down the house.

About 40 law officers patrolled the grounds, as the police and sheriff’s deputies had expected the usual bunch of thieves and pickpockets that followed such shows from town to town.

After all, curbing crime was the reason that the City Council had created the costly permits for carnivals, circuses and traveling shows that had come to town in a seemingly endless stream.

But the patrons of Cody’s show were relatively safe: Only one woman filed a complaint of robbery.

The wife of the proprietor of the Brassville Hotel claimed a deft hand had removed the $75 pearl and diamond brooch from her dress while she was jostled in the huge crowd exiting the arena.

After the second show, the roustabouts got busy and dismantled everything and loaded up the train cars for the Wild West Show’s next stop: Beloit, Wis.

This week’s mystery:

What Kenosha manufacturer’s spectacular display at the Chicago World’s Fair lit up the night sky?

History Mystery appears weekly in the Kenosha News. The answer to today’s question will run next Tuesday.